It was the most unassuming of the records I bought that day--a Best of Scorpions, a Stormtroopers of Death record, and the Ozzman Cometh CD were the others--but oh, it has shown itself to be the most amazing. It stands as possibly the only recipient of the Metal Live at Leeds Award, even though The Who's Live at Leeds itself would be a substantial entry.
These guys are amped up on so much coke and awesomeness that it can't help but fuel the primitive (and therefore more awesome, bludgeoning) metal onslaught that is "Live At Last". The album also features moments of Iommi's incredibly awesome Eastern experimentalism, quiet landmarks that punctuate the band's album-wide meditation in ass-kicking. It only helps that throughout they are digging deep into their blues roots, which sounds boring but is, in actuality, completely brutal.
Aside from all this brutality and awesomeness, this album just kicks ass. Witness the cliche-shattering storm brewing in the intro to War Pigs, or the sludgy mayhem attack of Cornucopia. This concert features what is probably the greatest Sabbath set list ever:
Tomorrow's Dream
Sweet Leaf
Killing Yourself to Live
Cornucopia
Snowblind
Embryo/Children of the Grave
War Pigs
Wicked World/Supernaut
Paranoid
It is at least the best you could ever expect without their recreating an entire album. And this list even mixes it up a bit! Of course, the inclusion of Supernaut represents a cream dream in itself.
This one has it all, folks: bass lines fat and bouncy as inner tubes, mind-shattering sloth/hornet guitar attack, giant and slaying drums, and Ozzy shouting "WE LOVE YOU" during every song. A diamond in the rough with an extremely unassuming/yet still awesome lunar scape cover design, this album was actually released (legally) without the band's permission or knowledge in 1980. One of their best, one of the best.
1 comment:
S***, I never paid attention to any live Sabbath stuff, but this sounds like a must-hear. Thanks for the heads-up.
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